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  1. 6

    Trouble Contacting Synjeco

    "You will not be able to buy any Gawith products from Synjeco unless very old stock or being purchased illegally from elsewhere as we no longer use Synjeco as a distributor. They owe us an awful lot of money so it is now going through legal processes." Horrible to hear. Sorry also because...
  2. 6

    Trouble Contacting Synjeco

    I have purchased and emailed multiple times with Daniel with no problem and he is a great guy but I remember the first time I had to contact him few times before the order went through. I sent him money through wire transfer as I think they have limitations for credit cards from US customers so...
  3. 6

    Dog With Good Taste For Cigar

    Last night when I went for a walk instead that my pipe I smoked a cigar. Toward the end of the cigar I sat on the sidewalk for few minutes. A small dog walking with her owner came close to me than suddenly she went up on her legs and slowly and quietly smelling approached the cigar which I put...
  4. 6

    Olive Coffee Anyone?

    I am italian and I would say no italian will ever take that, maybe american tourists in Italy. Knowing my country I would say the only use italians would make of it is infusing through an enema whoever came with that idea if he/she will tour in Italy. But I stop here just as a joke and not...
  5. 6

    Plug Advice Needed

    The reason for leaving in the jar as an uncutted plug or rope is that it ages and mellow better staying all together. When you want to smoke slice in the thinnest slices you are able using a decent knife (I use a carbon opinel). For me slicing the plugs and ropes is part of the positive...
  6. 6

    Anyone Seal Vacuum Tins With Tape

    It's aluminum tape and I do as extra precaution. Once opened the tin if you don't want to transfer to jar I noticed they avoid decently well drying of the tobacco for at least a couple of years and I live in a pretty dry climate.
  7. 6

    Wind Caps

    The problem with these cheap wind caps (I have one) is that even if you relight through them you have to remove it every time you tamp (and you have to tamp), which is why I find them cumbersome. I do have a pipe with a fixed wind cup which I can just open and close without removing it and it...
  8. 6

    Do you prefer the 1st or 2nd half of bowl better?

    For me I prefer the first half (or until the first relight which is about half way of the bowl) as to me I taste more the original tobacco taste as it should be. In the second half the ash and the humidity accumulating at the end of the bowl alter the taste not for the better. Yes, you can...
  9. 6

    Tekin Meerschaum

    I have one small basket pipe. It smokes very well, only problem is that some pieces of the outside basket are falling down, it is not affecting the smoking but cosmetically it is starting to get ugly, not sure if it is a quality of the block or because they were engraved too small and tiny.
  10. 6

    Tobacco goes out constantly; I relight; Ash comes out black.

    In addition to all above excellent suggestion one more tip. When tamping in addition to using the minimum pressure to not just push down but rotate the tamper so you you can move a little bit evenly the burning tobacco and every while move with the tamper the peripheral part of the tobacco...
  11. 6

    Storage of Bouchons de Semois

    On a similar note how they do compared to the cut semois? I like very much the semois but I heard they are not that much different. In other words are they different enough to compel purchasing them other that for their unique format (which could be by itself a reason for trying them)?
  12. 6

    Comparison Of New Vs Old Ennerdale Batch

    As I finished my old 2016 Ennerdale tin I opened yesterday the 500g Ennerdale box (production of February 2021) I purchased last September and kept in mylar since then. After reading the recent reviews claiming the new production was different with much less sauce I was worried that could be a...
  13. 6

    Making Bowl Last Longer

    It is not possible to give a specific advice as there are too many variables in technique, which have been referred above, we don't know how are you playing them. My best word is this, being everything else equal try to use a blend stronger in taste/flavor (not necessary in nicotine strength)...
  14. 6

    What Stems does Fikri Baki Use?

    Any stem to be perfect should be modeled with the pipe on hand so send it to a reputable repair shop as listed above. You will be disappointed if you'll buy a stem by yourself as it wont fit perfectly with the shape of the pipe. About the material I have a Baki pipe with cumberland stem which...
  15. 6

    Mold?

    While mold can be easily detected at visual inspection, what we call plume cannot be ruled out to be mold unless laboratory analysis is done and I suspect most if not all plume is actually mold even if it does not mean it is unsmokable and actually can be a great smoke. Remember this is a...